Why South Africans are Some of the Biggest Importers of Whisky
South Africans are quite fond of their tipple – this is a pretty well established fact. Whether it’s craft beers, odd gins, or high-quality Scotch whisky – we’re big fans of the odd ‘dop’ here and there.
When it comes to what we’re the biggest fans of, though, it would appear as though Scotch whisky (note, no ‘e’ here – meaning its actual Scotch from Scotland) is near the top of hard tack that we prefer. In fact, South Africa imports 42 million bottles of Scotch each year (and there are some easy solutions to do so). That volume equates to roughly R1.8 billion worth of Scotch being brought into the country each year, according to a recent report.
We even take our Scotch so seriously that knock-off Scotch-flavoured spirits are being rapped over the knuckles for potentially attempting to pull the wool over customers’ eyes with their labelling and marketing. Scotch whisky is a prized spirit that has very strict standards to adhere to, and the adherence to those standards is what gives customers the confidence they’re buying a quality product.
There have been a few upstart companies that make ‘Scotch-flavoured’ aperitifs, generally made from cane, that have recently had a court interdict thrown their way by the Scotch Whisky Association, which is responsible for the strict regulation of Scotch worldwide. If South Africa’s numbers are anything to go by, then we’re seriously discerning buyers of Scotch that are always chasing the best examples of Scotch.
So – if we’re importing a cartload of bottles every year, what’s the best way of tracking down new brands of Scotch to sample? Online shopping is generally your best bet, since even smaller brands are becoming more adept at making their unique whiskies available.
If you’re shopping overseas, you might run into shipping snags when it comes to getting your whisky to your doorstep, which is where the folks at Postbox Courier come in. They’re a one-stop courier shop that can not only get packages from countries like the US, UK, or China to you, but they can even consolidate multiple orders coming from different destinations into a single order. So if you’ve spotted a little-known distillery that makes a whisky you’re itching to try out but can’t find here – just add to cart and let Postbox Courier do the rest!
